Republic of Ireland are out to make France midfielder Lassana Diarra pay for World Cup insult

All eyes will be on Keith Andrews and Lassana Diarra on Wednesday night following the ugly spat which overshadowed the first leg of the World Cup showdown between the Republic of Ireland and France.

Swedish referee Martin Hansson will need to be watchful in the Stade de France as Andrews and his Irish team-mates look to exact revenge for the French midfielder’s insulting dismissal of their team after the final whistle on Saturday in Dublin.

But with a place in next summer’s World Cup finals at stake, both sides have insisted the row will not be significant.

Make him pay: Republic of Ireland are determined to get one over Lassana Diarra following his spat with Blackburn Rovers midfielder Keith Andrews in Dublin

Captains Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane and managers Giovanni Trapattoni and Raymond Domenech have claimed there will be no repercussions. Mind you, the French are adamant nothing was said in the first place.

The ugly scenes at the end of France’s 1-0 win in Dublin on Saturday have raised the stakes for the second leg. Real Madrid midfielder Diarra upset Andrews when he told him ‘**** off Irish p****. You are out’ as the pair met in the centre circle after the final whistle.

Keane said the issue would not allow Ireland to be distracted from their main task, which is to become only the second team to come back from a first leg deficit to win a play-off clash.

He said: ‘We cannot be worried about what has happened. I don’t think we need anything to be up for the game. We will be up for it regardless of what anyone said or did.

‘We have to be because it is the World Cup. You dream about playing at the World Cup as a kid and I have played in one and I want to be there again. What happened is gone. It was after the game and, of course, every player’s reaction after the event is to say, “I didn’t say this” or whatever. That’s the way it is and it adds fuel to the fire but we can’t think about Diarra or his comments. We have to concentrate on the job in hand and we will be doing that.

New ball, please: Manchester United defender John O’Shea and Wolves striker Kevin Doyle (R) attempt to banish pre-match nerves in Paris with a dose of banter

‘This campaign has given us a lot of confidence and the performances away from home have been good. That is something we can take into this game. It has been a decent campaign but it will mean nothing if we don’t produce. We are in the campaign to be in the World Cup finals.’

Barcelona striker Henry said: ‘We expect a physical challenge. What happened after the game is a side issue; it has no consequences for this game. We will come out on the pitch with 0-0 on our minds; our aim is to win not to draw.

‘I don’t know what sort of game Ireland will play but we will play the same way. We are going to play to win. We respect the players, we respect Trapattoni. I’m not thinking about what happened over there. This is the only game that matters.’

It was Trapattoni who revealed on Saturday that former Arsenal, Chelsea and Portsmouth midfielder Diarra had ‘insulted the Irish nation’ and publicly opened the row between the two squads.

On Tuesday night, however, the Italian was determined to play down the incident and insisted he will be trying to keep his players focused on the task of winning an away game against a major nation for the first time in Ireland’s history.

The only significant result they managed was a win in Scotland in 1987 on their way to their first finals qualification — the 1988 European Championship.

Trapattoni said: ‘It’s important we remain confident and keep a cool head. If we use our cool heads, we can use our warm feet to score the goals.’

Keane will tell his team-mates there must be no regrets when they leave Paris. He has admitted this campaign could be his last World Cup and is determined to throw everything at the French side.

Keane is one of five players who were at the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea and like outfield players Richard Dunne, Damien Duff and Kevin Kilbane, is likely to consider his future after the next European Championship campaign. Only keeper Shay Given, who won his 100th last month, is likely to stay on for the 2014 finals, which will be held in Brazil.